Christening
by RoseMarieLynn
Summary: Q transports Seven, Janeway, Paris, Torres, Chakotay, and the Doctor to a planet reminiscent of Medieval Earth. The dominant religion called arrests Seven as a “witch”, and sentences her to death. The officers must work together to save her and escape.
1. Default Chapter

Christening  
  
Summary: Q transports Seven, Janeway, Paris, Torres, Chakotay, and the Doctor to a planet reminiscent of Medieval Earth. The dominant religion called "the Way" arrests Seven as a "witch", and sentences her to death. The officers must work together to save Seven and escape.  
  
Notice: This is my first fanfic so please don't kill me. As you can see, I've spent a lot of time in the first chapter just getting the hang of the characters. Please let me know what you think, and especially feel free to tell me if you think I have a character all wrong. Thanks!  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek: Voyager and all characters, names, titles, etc. used in the following short story. In other words, this story is worth less than the memory it takes up because the cool stuff isn't mine.  
  
Chapter One: An Ordinary Day  
  
"Regeneration cycle complete," the Computer bleeped.  
  
Seven of Nine's eyes popped open. Without thinking, she stepped out of her alcove. Two long strides brought her to her computer interface, where she began her morning log entry.  
  
"Computer, continue recording personal log of Seven of Nine tertiary adjunct of unimatrix zero-one. Stardate 5240.2. I've just awakened from a very restful regeneration. I continue to dream of my parents. The Doctor has suggested that my dreams are a result of the fact that I "miss" these unfamiliar individuals. I'm not sure how I should desire the company of beings of which I have very few memories. My duties this morning include finishing the astrometric survey of the Cryton Nebula, assisting Lieutenant Torres with warp core alignments, tutoring Naomi Wildman in basic algebra, and a singing lesson with the Doctor. End log entry."  
  
Seven stared at the interface for a moment. She felt her shoulders relax slightly. Her first daily task was complete. Five more long strides brought her to the cargo bay door, which opened obediently and closed as she stepped out into the hallway, now teaming with crewmen on the way to duty shifts. She turned right toward the turbo-lift that would take her to Astrometrics  
  
  
  
  
  
Lieutenant B'Elana Torres Paris groaned as a spritely song interrupted her heavy sleep. "Lalalalalala-Lalalalala," the miniscule voices sang in a high- pitched fugue. The Chief Engineer sighed. Her husband had awakened early to watch cartoons on his ancient television set. At full volume no less.  
  
"Computer, time," she demanded groggily.  
  
"O-six-eleven hours," the computer replied dryly.   
  
B'Elana heaved another sigh and rolled over. The tiny voices had now begun conversation. She wondered briefly why she had replicated that device for Tom in the first place. Then she remembered with a small smile that she found his interest in history and ancient entertainment a very fun and lovable trait. Slowly she sat up and swung her legs to dangle over the side of the bed. The sudden action triggered her morning sickness, and she ran to the bathroom.  
  
The tiny voices were shouting and crying out as the Lieutenant finally lifted her head from the sink. She wet a towel and wiped her face clean. Looking in the mirror, she placed her hand lovingly on her swelling abdomen. The doctor predicted only another few days of sickness. She could handle it until then, for her baby's sake. She thanked her lucky stars she'd asked Seven of Nine to help out in engineering that afternoon. She'd need help after such an early, rude beginning to her day.  
  
  
  
"Cinnamon-bun, cold," Tom heard his wife command the replicator. He turned to see her standing by the console. As if by instict, she turned to face him, and his eyebrows went up in an inquiring expression. "And another, hot," she added. She all but glided over to him, plates in hand, her rounded torso preceding her. The helmsman kissed his wife as she sat down on the sofa and handed him a steaming pastry.  
  
"Feeling better, honey?" he asked with genuine concern.  
  
"Much better than yesterday, thanks. The Smurf's again?" she commented, her voice betraying a slight bit of amusement.  
  
"You're getting pretty good at twentieth-century cartoons," Tom smiled back. He realized she'd changed the subject, but he didn't feel like fighting her pride this morning. Her condition had troubled him for the past couple of weeks.  
  
"Tom, your shift doesn't begin for almost an hour," B'Elana stated. "This is the third time you've been up early this week. The captain let you have a later shift so you spend more time with me in the mornings," she almost pouted, cuddling up to her husband.  
  
Tom placed a reassuring arm about her shoulders. "I'm anxious to see what happens to Smurfette," he laughed, "Aren't you?" He couldn't tell his wife that the stress of her morning sickness led him to rise early and seek relaxation with cartoons. That would land him in the doghouse until she was feeling better. She'd already confided in him this morning, he wouldn't push his luck. Major communication with B'Elana was best done in small portions.  
  
B'Elana turned her attention to the small, blue creature with blond hair dangling above a pot of boiling water, a cat circling below. She sighed. "I'm not due in sickbay until O-nine-hundred. I suppose I could watch for awhile."  
  
"That's the spirit," Tom encouraged her. He drew her close as he put his sticky bun in his mouth with his free hand. He decided that this would be a good day.  
  
  
  
Kathryn Janeway rushed around her quarters. She straightened the books on her coffee table and righted the cushions on her sofa. She power walked to the dining table and rechecked the place settings. Bread plates, forks, spoons, bowls, juice glasses, flowers… a crimson splash of Vulcan tulips. Two days of replicator rations had gone into the small centerpiece. She wanted this breakfast to be prefect. She'd replicated the napkins just the right shade of red to match the flowers. It was just the hue that Chakotay favored. She surveyed the table with satisfaction. This morning would be wonderful, despite the slightly burned toast and liquid quiche.  
  
She glanced at the old fashioned digital timepiece on the coffee table. O'seven-hundred hours. She'd have to get dressed quickly. Chakotay was due at O-seven-thirty, and he was never late.   
  
The sonic shower was more relaxing than Voyager's captain had remembered. She'd never really noticed how much she looked forward to her morning showers. As Captain, she had very little time to herself. Or time alone with the people I care about, she thought with a sigh. But this morning would be different. This was a morning for just her and her best friend to eat breakfast, talk, and laugh. She wasn't due on the bridge until O-nine-hundred hours. She made a conscious decision that she would not talk with Chakotay about ship business this morning. She wanted it all to be casual, friendly conversation. Sighing contentedly, Kathryn sank back into the sonic shower.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Good morning, Commander!" the Doctor chortled over the intercom. Chakotay grabbed his com badge and stuffed it under the other pillow on his double bed. Suddenly, the thought occurred to him that he'd asked the doctor to wake him in time for his breakfast with Kathryn.  
  
Sitting up, he pulled the badge out from under the pillow. "I'm sorry doctor," he said rubbing his eyes, "A good morning to you. Thank you for calling."  
  
"I am a doctor, not an alarm clock, but I try my best," the Doctor continued, obviously annoyed. "You'll be glad to know you have half an hour before your meeting with the Captain, just as you'd requested. Have a good time, Commander, and don't hesitate to ask for my services after breakfast if need be." With that the Doctor signed off.   
  
Chakotay chuckled quietly as he stood and walked toward the lavatory. He understood the Doctor's comment had been a joke, but he carefully stored the information in the back of his mind. Kathryn was not the best cook, and one could never be too sure what surprises awaited a guest at her table.  
  
When the sonic shower ended, the Commander promptly exited the bathroom and headed for his closet. He pulled out a clean uniform, then stepped back and thought. He found his com badge amongst his covers. "Chakotay to the Captain," he said tapping the badge lightly.  
  
"Janeway here," came the reply. He smiled. Her normally stoic voice betrayed a hint of excitement on this particular morning.   
  
"I was wondering what you planned to wear this morning, Kathryn," he said, using her first name gently.  
  
The voice came back just as gently, a rare occurrence. "I thought casual dress would be best this morning… Chakotay," Kathryn said, returning the friendly favor.  
  
"The Captain always knows best," Chakotay smiled, "See you in a few minutes. Chakotay out." The com clicked off. The first officer pulled on a blue cotton t-shirt, and put his com badge into the pocket of his khaki Bermuda shorts. He surveyed himself in the closet door mirror. To casual? No, not for breakfast with his best friend.  
  
  
  
Lieutenant Torres at O-nine-hundred, Naomi Wildman at O-nine-thirty, Ensign Lynch at Ten-hundred, the Doctor checked his appointments for the day. He wasn't sure why he was in such a good mood this morning, after all he'd just played alarm clock for the first officer. But somehow, he found himself whistling as he went about downloading his appointments into his tricorder for reference throughout the day.  
  
As he hummed the melody to "You are my Sunshine," he remembered why this particular day was so wonderful. He had a singing lesson scheduled with Seven of Nine for that evening. The tricorder finished downloading and the doctor stood. He hummed "Greensleeves" as he arranged hyposprays on the medical cart. Suddenly, the door burst open and Ensign Kim came running into sickbay. He was wearing a silver down coat and powder pants. Skiing goggles were dangling from his neck.  
  
"What seems to be the problem, Ensign?" the doctor asked, a raised eyebrow indicating his surprise at the hasty entrance and mysterious attire.  
  
"Doc, the Downhill Skiing program…*gasp*… in Holodeck Two… *gasp*… is going haywire again. *wheeze* The lifts are moving over 10 kph… *gasp*… and people are twisting their ankles all over the place…*wheeze*," the Ensign breathed heavily.  
  
Wonderful, an eventful morning, the Doctor thought bitterly. "Computer, reactivate safety protocols on Holodeck Two authorization Doctor-Beta-Tango and transfer the Emergency Medical Holographic program to that location."  
  
"Safeties reengaged. Transferring Emergency Medical Hologram." 


	2. Chapter 2: Interruption

Christening  
  
Notice: Thanks to all of you who wrote me reviews! I really appreciate it. I hope you all will see some improvement in this chapter.  
  
Sorry it's taken so long to update. My brain works kinda slowly sometimes. I have introduced a a couple of new characters... well, not new, just haven't written their character before... anyways, I hope you all like the way I wrote them. Please let me know what you think. This is my first fanfic and I need all the help I can get!  
  
Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek: Voyager and all characters, names, titles, etc. used in the following short story. In other words, this story is worth less than the memory it takes up because the cool stuff isn't mine.  
  
Chapter Two: Interruption  
  
Seven of Nine stared transfixed at the Cryton Nebula for a moment. Her ocular implant whirred as she calculated the position and labeled each stellar phenomenon. The moment her scans were complete, she began to enter the positions and statistics manually from the consol. The Astrometrics lab would have been able to find the phenomenon for her to label and examine, but she found it more efficient to use her Borg knowledge to expedite the process. Of course, she never told anyone the secret to her amazing powers of analysis. The lab gave her all the sensor statistics she needed, and her memories from the collective supplied the rest. She remembered with a sense of melancholy satisfaction that she was a unique individual for her humanity, but much more so for her Borg background.  
  
Names and numbers whizzed by as she copied her analysis into the ship's computer. She paused briefly each time she found something remotely curious. Two new stars were forming in the center of the nebula. Corona, gravity wells, gas pockets… a bright orb in the outer nebula caught her eye. She checked the coordinates of the mysterious light. Not in the nebula, but beyond it she thought, cursing the limited scope of a two dimensional screen. She changed the view. The orb spun around. It's distance from the nebula measured about 25 light years according to Seven's ocular implant.  
  
Uncharacteristically curious, Seven commanded "Computer, magnify sector 457 Beta."  
  
The view zoomed rapidly in on the large luminescent disc. What came into focus did not make any sense to Seven of Nine. A whirlpool galaxy sat spinning tranquilly before her eyes. Her ocular implant whirred furiously, but all queries for information on this spatial formation came up negative. Seven raised one eyebrow slightly. Truly undiscovered territory, very curious… she thought. She tapped her com badge "Ensign Kim to the Astrometrics Lab immediately," she said smoothly.  
  
A beep preceded a most irregular reply. "Be there in a minute, Seven," Harry's voiced said, "I've got a bit of a situation on my hands in Holodeck Two."  
  
  
  
  
  
B'Elanna struggled slightly as she pulled on her uniform. The maternity shirt fit modestly over her swollen abdomen. Though bending over was difficult, she threw on a pair of black maternity slacks and thick, heeled boots. She affixed her communicator on the left hand side of her chest, about two inches from her sternum and two inches below her collar bone. The Starfleet insignia blazed silver and gold over the black uniform. She remembered for a moment how, once upon a time, she'd despised this symbol. Now it stood for her link to a network of close knit brothers and sisters, a family of travelers and explorers whose fates were inescapably intertwined. She hoped she would make it back to the Alpha Quadrant and be able to prove her unswerving loyalty to the Federation.  
  
A beep on her communicator broke into her uncharacteristic musings. "Doctor to Lieutenant Torres."  
  
"Go ahead," she replied absently, gathering her tricorder and tool kit.  
  
"I'm afraid there are some rather serious programming errors on Holodeck Two that need repair again. I'd do it myself, but there are injuries this time. Your immediate assistance is required. Oh, and you may want a parka."  
  
A slight adrenaline shock ran through her system. "I'll be there right away," she said, "Torres out." She sighed in exasperation. When would Harry ever learn to lock his holodeck programs and leave the safeties on? Maybe this new fiasco would teach him a badly needed lesson.  
  
B'Elanna grabbed her thermal jacket and all but jogged out the door, then down the corridor to the turbo lift. Choruses of "Good morning, Lieutenant," met her as she entered the small space. She exited some decks below and turned an immediate left. Holodeck Two's doors opened on cue as she walked in. Donning her jacket, she scrambled past holographic onlookers and found the doctor and Harry Kim attending to a few crewmen at the bottom of the ski lift. "Doctor, report," she ordered.  
  
"Three crewmen have been injured. I turned the safeties back on before I came, but I was too late for Morrison, Lakewood, and Wang. Unfortunately, some self styled prankster turned the ski lift up to ten kilometers per hour, and I haven't had a minute to reprogram the matrix."  
  
"I'm on it."  
  
  
  
Chakotay arrived at the Captain's quarters at precisely o'seven hundred thirty hours. He pressed the call button at the right side of the door and waited for a reply from inside.  
  
"Just a minute!" Kathryn called from inside as she set the slightly burned quiche onto the glass top table. She threw the pot holders into her closet, posed herself in front of the main door, and smoothed her hair before saying "Come in."  
  
The hydraulic doors opened with a ceremonious woosh, and Chakotay stepped into the Captain's quarters. Table settings shone and the red Vulcan tulips glowed in the bright morning cabin lights. Most remarkable to Chakotay was Kathryn, dressed in a bright green sleeveless turtleneck sweater with black pants. Her short red hair was curled smartly under. A small Celtic cross pendant on a silver chain hung right next her com-badge. "Good morning," he said, looking straight into her green eyes.  
  
"Good morning," she replied, returning the steady gaze for a moment, then turning away and indicating the chair nearest the door. "Please, sit down."  
  
"Today's special," she continued as they walked toward the table and took their seats, "is quiche-a-la-replicator, my secret recipe." A smile and wink emphasized her sarcasm and Chakotay chuckled.  
  
"It looks great, Kathryn," he said.  
  
"Please help yourself, Chakotay," she returned, smiling and lifting the pan to pass it across the table. Their hands touched lightly as he reached for the quiche and their cheeks brightened slightly.  
  
"Thanks, don't mind if I do," a familiar voice replied to Kathryn's left.  
  
The Captain started. They both let go and the dish landed with a smack in the middle of the table, crushing the precious Vulcan tulips and throwing quiche everywhere. Chakotay muttered "What the…" under his breath as he turned to his right to identify the intruder. Both the First Officer and the Captain gaped at what they saw. Chakotay tapped his combadge on instinct.  
  
  
  
Lieutenant Paris exited the turbo lift at a jog. Lieutenant Commander Tuvok turned, locked eyes with the tardy officer, and raised one eyebrow.  
  
"Sorry I'm late," Tom apologized as he took the helm.  
  
"You apology is noted," Tuvok acknowledged in his dry, Vulcan way, "Please commence the morning sensor sweep."  
  
Tom's hands flew over the consol in front of him. He ran a scan and, after several minutes it completed with one satisfactory beep. "Nothing out of the ordinary on sensors," he reported routinely.  
  
"Very good, Lieutenant," Tuvok replied, "Continue on our present course, warp 6."  
  
"Aye sir," Tom sat back slightly and gazed out of the view screen. Blurred lines of light came and went in a varied pattern that he knew well. I hate it when I'm late on Tuvok's morning command, he thought, he always thinks I'm lazy. Good thing Vulcan's don't have emotions, otherwise he might be mad.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by Chakotay's voice over the bridge com. "Intruder alert. Security to…" but he was cut off in the middle of his message. Tom swiveled in his chair to look at Tuvok.  
  
"Computer, locate Commander Chakotay." Not even a hint of nerves disturbed Tuvok's even-toned inquiry.  
  
"Unable to comply. Internal sensors are offline," the computer chortled obediently.  
  
"Lieutenant Paris?" Tuvok asked.  
  
Tom was way ahead of him. His hands flew over the panel again. "Still nothing on censors. Maybe a cloaked ship?"  
  
"Perhaps," Tuvok replied, "Continue scanning the area. Alert me if there are any changes." The Vulcan officer tapped his com badge, "Tuvok to Security, intruder alert. Meet in Engineering for a shipwide search."  
  
  
  
  
  
The Doctor hastily repaired Ensign Lakewood's ankle. His bedside manner subroutines generated calming phrases which he uttered with practiced enthusiasm. "You're going to be just fine, Ensign," he said as his medical tricorder confirmed the regeneration of the ankle tendon.   
  
"Thanks, doc," she murmured as he helped her up from the snow.  
  
"My pleasure. Your tardiness for you duty shift has already been excused in the ship's log. Have a great day and remember not to ski without the safeties again!"  
  
Ensign Lakewood walked away, only a slight favoring of her healed ankle showing in her stride. She shuffled past Lieutenant Torres who was mucking around in the matrix circuitry and walked out of the holodeck doors. The Doctor, his emergency duties now complete, checked his internal chronometer. Only o'seven hundred forty-five hours. His first appointment was with Lieutenant Torres herself at o'nine hundred. He decided to check in on her progress. Walking in Ensign Lakewood's snowy footprints, he made his way to the Chief Engineer's side.  
  
"How's it coming, Lieutenant?" he asked tentatively. Now that he was here he could see how involved she was in her work. Maybe it was best to leave her alone.  
  
To his surprise, the Lieutenant responded in a civil manner. "Not bad at all, actually. I set the ski lift back to the regular 5 kph. I'm working on locking the program now."  
  
He watched her work for another moment, her hands and eyes working simultaneously on the panel before her. The humanoid mind and body interaction never ceased to amaze him. He never could understand how humans were capable of such intelligent and complex thought without subroutines, algorithms, and programming. What's more, they possessed the ability to implement those ideas in reality. Fascinating.  
  
A slight tremor in her hands caught his eye. Her pinky and ring finger shook slightly as she shut the panel door. "Lieutenant, are you feeling alright?"  
  
"I'm fine, Doctor. Please, it's nothing," she insisted as the doctor held out a hand to escort her out the door, "I can handle it. I just want to know how my baby is doing. I'll meet you in sickbay at o'nine hundred."  
  
"Alright, but be prepared to receive some nutritional supplement hypos again. Both you and your baby need proper sustenance in order to be healthy and strong," the doctor's caring broke through to his face in a concerned smile.  
  
The Lieutenant returned his smile, "Thanks, Doctor," she said. Picking up her tools, she exited the holodeck, turned right, and was gone.  
  
Simply fascinating, the doctor thought. "Computer, end program Kim107 and transfer Emergency Medical Hologram to sickbay."  
  
  
  
"Chakotay to the bridge… can anybody hear me?"  
  
"I'm sorry about your little toy, Chakotay, but those don't work when I'm around. I'd thought you'd have known that by now." A smug smile swept across Q's face. He always loved making grand entrances. "Hello, Kathryn," he said, reaching over the table for her hand, "lovely to see you, as always."   
  
"Q!" Janeway scolded, pulling her hand away, "I thought I told you to stop dropping in like this. What is it this time? I'm sorry, but I have to insist up front that I won't do any more babysitting."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Kathy. I came to help you. You're very near to a barbaric, backward world. I wanted to help you avoid it and possibly even speed you along your journey."  
  
The Captain's eyes narrowed slightly, staring shrewdly at the omnipotent being before her. "In exchange for what?" she asked finally, her gaze ever steady.  
  
Q's eyes glanced quickly at Chakotay before returning to the Captain's. "Get rid of this bum and come back to the Continuum with me. Married life is so lonely. To be honest, ever since I came up with the idea to let you have my child, marriage has not been able to satisfy my fantasy. I'll take you all the way back to the Alpha Quadrant if you do this for me. Please Kathy I'm desperate." By then he was kneeling before her. He pressed his head against her lap and she winced with the touch. She tried to pry his hands from around her thighs, but to no avail.  
  
Chakotay stood and dashed around the table. "Let go of her," he shouted. Grabbing Q, he lifted him off of the Captain and pinned him against the wall. "If you touch her again, I will make you wish you'd never left the Continuum in your sorry eternity."  
  
Q's smug smile was undaunted. "Ah, ah, ah… omnipotent being, remember? Don't force me to do something I'd regret."  
  
Chakotay's head reeled with anger, "Go ahead and try it…".  
  
"If you insist," Q said. He snapped his fingers. 


	3. Chapter 3: O'Nine Hundred

Christening

Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek: Voyager and all characters, names, titles, etc. used in the following short story. In other words, this story is worth less than the memory it takes up because the cool stuff isn't mine.

Note: Thanks to everyone who has waited so patiently for this update, I hope you enjoy it! I can't say when I will be able to update again, but a ton of reviews would only help things move along more quickly. Thanks for your support!

Chapter Three: O'Nine Hundred

No sooner had Tuvok taken the turbo lift than Tom heard a small wooshing noise with accompaniment like small wind chimes. He turned around in his chair to see Chakotay, Janeway, and Q standing in the middle of the bridge. Before he knew it, he was standing with phaser at the ready.

Seven of Nine turned as Harry Kim, a bit disheveled, entered the Astrometrics Lab. "Good morning, Ensign," she said, nodding her head in recognition of his presence.

"Hi Seven," Harry responded, "You asked for me?"

"Yes," she replied. "I have come across an anomaly during my survey of the Cryton Nebula. The survey is complete, but I would like to ask you a question. Were there any problems with the scanning system when you designed the Astrometrics Lab?"

"No, not at all," Harry responded. "Was there a problem scanning?"

"On the contrary, I am getting perfectly normal readings. My Borg knowledge does not include this specific spatial formation, however. Observe." Seven pressed a few buttons on the consol in front of her. The view screen zoomed in until the mysterious light came into focus as a galaxy. "This is Galaxy 457 Beta, after the sector in which it is situated, but I am unsure that it truly exists. I have run several diagnostics and all have returned negative. I require your assistance to either confirm this discovery or search out the sensor error."

Harry stood transfixed by the light. He checked the consol in front of him. "There's no error, Seven. That's for real." He paused. "It looks almost like home, doesn't it?" He turned to Seven.

Seven's mind was a blur. She had never seen Earth, only pictures of it and its peaceful little galaxy. She looked at the statistics. "This is indeed a pinwheel galaxy, and its chemical make-up is profoundly similar to the Milky Way. I estimate an 87 chance of a planet much like Earth occurring here."

Harry frowned, "I'm sorry, Seven. I didn't mean to say anything stupid." Seven was uncomfortable. She changed the subject quickly. "Apology accepted. Do you confirm my findings Ensign?"

"Thanks," he said then continued, all business, "Discovery of Galaxy 457 Beta confirmed."

"Proceeding with update of ship's logs." A few keystrokes did the job. A slight flutter in her abdomen surprised her. She had made her first new scientific discovery as an individual. She decided immediately that she enjoyed the pride of achievement. "This data pad contains a brief description of the galaxy. Proper protocol demands that we report this discovery to the Captain immediately. I request your assistance as my confirming scientist."

Harry blushed, "My duty shift on the bridge begins in less than 20 minutes. I will send the Captain a report of my confirmation later today. Thanks though."

"As you wish, Ensign," she said as she walked out. She tapped her com badge as the doors shut behind her. "Seven of Nine to the Captain." No response. "Seven of Nine to the Captain," she said again. Nothing. "Computer, locate Captain Janeway."

"Unable to comply. Internal sensors are offline."

Proper protocol demands I see her, she thought. Taking the nearest turbo lift, she headed for the bridge.

The scarcely had the Doctor returned to sickbay before Lieutenant Tuvok's voice sounded through his combadge.

"Tuvok to the Doctor."

"Go ahead, Commander," the doctor replied, absent mindedly checking his tricorder one last time for appointments.

"If Commander Chakotay's distress call was correct, there is an intruder aboard Voyager. Your assistance may be required. Please proceed to Engineering for further instructions."

The Doctor's subroutines processed this information in a few nano seconds. "On my way," he replied, "Doctor out."

Grabbing his mobile emitter, he affixed it to his right bicep with practiced ease. He placed his tricoder in the holster at his hip, slung his medical kit over his shoulder, and hustled out the door.

Crewmen in the corridors rushed past him. Choruses of "Good morning, Doctor," greeted him, and all were met with a smile. The Doctor loved walking among the crew, as one of them. His mobile emitter gave him a freedom that he relished more than words. Even when the ship was in a panic and his day was completely frenzied, he could appreciate the little things.

A turbo lift ride and a few left turns brought the Doctor into Main Engineering where a large party of security officers was gathered around Tuvok.

"It will be a two-pronged search effort of four parties," Tuvok was saying as the Doctor joined the group, "Two teams will search the decks above main engineering, and two teams will search below. The Doctor and I will remain here and coordinate. Maintain open communicators and report in every 5 minutes. Alpha and Beta groups above, Delta and Gamma groups below. Proceed."

The security teams went into motion and the Doctor was soon left standing alone where there had once been many crewmen. With nothing to do but wait, he began to survey Main Engineering. A suspiciously familiar swollen torso caught his eye from underneath a panel. His internal chronometer told him it was o-eight-hundred hours and forty-five minutes. Nothing like getting an early start on his appointments for the day.

Captain Janeway spoke first, "Q, I've had enough of your mischief for today. I demand that you leave my bridge and my ship immediately!"

"But Kathy, don't you want to see the world that will be your crew's home unless you come with me? I'm sure your underlings would appreciate a look at the real estate before their captain purchases the plot."

Tom stood still. "Captain?" he inquired.

Janeway looked from her pilot to Chakotay. She nodded and Chakotay gave the order. "Stand down, Lieutenant. For now."

Tom sat back down, but kept his hand on his phaser.

"Now then," Q went on, "let's have a look, shall we?" Q snapped his fingers. A planet appeared on the view screen.

Tom's console bleeped. "Captain," he said, punching a few buttons, "we've moved off course. Sensors show we're in a stable orbit around an M class planet. I read no radio communications or any kind of technological advancement. But there are over a billion lifesigns."

Janeway narrowed her eyes at Q, "I don't take kindly to people hijacking my ship. Explain yourself."

Q strode toward the view screen, "Welcome, Kathy, to your new home. Seventy percent of the surface is water. The average temperature in most of the settlements is sixty degrees at night and eighty during the day. Farming and livestock flourish here. This will be your crew's prison unless you return with me to the continuum."

Chakotay chucked, "What sort of a threat is this? It doesn't sound so bad."

Q turned on his heel to face the first officer. "Oh, it doesn't?"

The turbo lift doors whooshed open as Seven of Nine entered the bridge. She turned right toward Janeway's ready-room, but stopped short. Seeing Q, she took a step back. "Captain?"

"It's alright, Seven," Janeway said, "he was just leaving."

"I was doing nothing of the sort," Q said. He snapped his fingers and appeared next to Seven. "So this is your borg crewmember?" He looked her up and down. "Fascinating."

Janeway bristled. "Q, I won't tell you again. I am not going with you to the Continuum. And we're not going down there. You've had your fun, now get off my bridge."

"If you're not going with me to the Continuum, then you might as well scout out your new planet," Q said.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked, his hand still on his phaser.

"I mean, we're assembling an away team, Lieutenant." Q snapped his fingers. B'Elana and the Doctor appeared on the bridge, B'Elana on her back and the Doctor standing above. A moment passed before B'Elana leapt to her feet, pregnancy notwithstanding. The Doctor looked baffled and slack jawed.

"There we are, you need a doctor and a techno-guru on these sorts of missions," said Q. "Now, for a change of clothes. We don't want to make the locals nervous." Another snap of Q's fingers and the entire assembly, including himself, glowed for a moment. The women's uniforms transformed into dresses with high waists, long flowing skirts, choke necked collars, and impossibly large sleeves. The men wore tights with long tunics. On their heads were muffin caps with feathers in them. Q wore tights and a tunic with long, fur-line robes hanging from his shoulders.

"Captain, what's going on?" B'Elana asked, clutching her belly which was loosely covered by a fresh white linen gown under a green wool jacket buttoned at her bust.

Janeway, in a red velvet dress with sleeves dragging the deck, looked at Q. "Return our uniforms immediately!"

"Or what, Kathy? Eventually everyone does what I want. Now, it's time for the walking tour of the property." And with another snap of his fingers Q, the Doctor, Seven of Nine, B'Elana, Tom, Chakotay, and Janeway disappeared from the bridge at o'nine hundred hours.


End file.
